The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Surviving Reprisal
by Elizabeth H. Smith

The morning sun burned her eyes. She’d been in darkness too long, shrouded in rags, planted without a marker by a man she’d never forget. The scent of his blood remained with her, a memento of the claw marks she left. The heaviness in her heart and soul preserved her despite the worms crawling in and out of her flesh. She was no longer among the living, but not quite dead—she lied somewhere in between, not yet at rest.

She couldn’t rest; not after what happened.

Her soul refused to leave her body, just as her fury wouldn’t cool. Its flame burned hot enough to pump foul blood through collapsed veins. She dug with her fingertips until they were nothing but bone, and with those hard nubs she moved earth until she reached the surface.

She sniffed the air as soon as she was able. It was crisp, sharp as a knife. The cool moisture felt good against her dried-out shell of leathery skin. She looked down at her bony, decayed hands, confident they would serve their final purpose, just as soon as she found the man she searched for.

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Fiction © Copyright Elizabeth H. Smith
Image courtesy of Pixabay

More About Elizabeth H. Smith:
Elizabeth H. Smith is a storyteller who writes while trying to keep her cat, Luna off the keyboard. The musical group, Rasputina is her muse. She was born in the state of New York and would never feel at home anywhere else.